Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-fscjk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T01:13:42.122Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chapter 40 - Consequences for the Mental Health of Families of Responders to Pandemics, Major Incidents, and Emergencies

from Section 5 - Sustaining and Caring for Staff During Emergencies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 January 2024

By
Rowena Hill
Edited by
Richard Williams ,
Verity Kemp ,
Keith Porter ,
Tim Healing  and
John Drury
Richard Williams
Affiliation:
University of South Wales
Verity Kemp
Affiliation:
Independent Health Emergency Planning Consultant
Keith Porter
Affiliation:
University of Birmingham
Tim Healing
Affiliation:
Worshipful Society of Apothecaries of London
John Drury
Affiliation:
University of Sussex
Get access

Summary

Responders in the UK attend a range of emergencies, incidents, disasters, and disease outbreaks (EIDD). Although the impacts on professional responders have been researched, documented, and are reasonably well understood, the consequences of that exposure to such incidents for their families is relatively underexplored. This chapter identifies the links between the wellbeing of families of responders and the impacts from the occupation of their emergency service family members. The support given by family members is explored in the context of social support, diffusing, and managing mental health. This is informed by empirically evidenced research projects detailing the occupational consequences for the families of responders through literature and national project work.

Keywords

collective resourcesfamiliesfamily dynamicspartnerssocial support
Type
Chapter
Information
Major Incidents, Pandemics and Mental Health
The Psychosocial Aspects of Health Emergencies, Incidents, Disasters and Disease Outbreaks
 , pp. 293 - 300
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Boss, P. Ambiguous loss research, theory, and practice: reflections after 9/11. J Marriage Fam 2004; 66: 551–66.Google Scholar
Hill, R, Sundin, E, Winder, B. Work–family enrichment of firefighters: ‘satellite family members’, risk, trauma and family functioning. Int J Emerg Serv 2020; 9: 395–407.Google Scholar
Davidson, AC, Berah, E, Moss, S. The relationship between the adjustment of Australian police officers and their partners. Psychiatry Psychol Law 2006; 13: 41–8.Google Scholar
Regehr, C. Bringing the trauma home: spouses of paramedics. J Loss Trauma 2005; 10: 97–114.Google Scholar
Hill, R, Pickford, R, Abdelmalak, E, Afolayan, S, Brittain, M, Nadeem, L, et al. Mapping the Health and Wellbeing Across the Firefighting Career and Assessing the Current Demands. Nottingham Trent University, 2023.Google Scholar
Hobfoll, SE, Spielberger, CD. Family stress: integrating theory and measurement. J Fam Psychol 1992; 6: 99.Google Scholar
Schumm, JA, Vranceanu, AM, Hobfoll, SE. The ties that bind: resource caravans and losses among traumatized families. In Handbook of Stress, Trauma, and the Family (ed. Catherall, DR): 33–50. Routledge, 2014.Google Scholar
Sharp, ML, Harrison, V, Solomon, N, Fear, N, King, H, Pike, G. Assessing the Mental Health and Wellbeing of the Emergency Responder Community in the UK. King’s College London, 2020.Google Scholar
Hill, R. Occupational related consequences for relatives of firefighters. PhD Thesis, Nottingham Trent University, 2015.Google Scholar
Mikkelsen, A, Burke, RJ. Work–family concerns of Norwegian police officers: antecedents and consequences. Int J Stress Manag 2004; 11: 429.Google Scholar
He, N, Zhao, J, Archbold, CA. Gender and police stress: the convergent and divergent impact of work environment, work–family conflict, and stress coping mechanisms of female and male police officers. Policing 2002; 25: 687–708.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schumm, WR, Bell, DB, Resnick, G. Recent research on family factors and readiness: implications for military leaders. Psychol Rep 2001; 89: 153–65.Google Scholar
Greenhaus, JH, Powell, GN. When work and family are allies: a theory of work–family enrichment. Acad Manag Rev 2006; 31: 72–92.Google Scholar
Cabarkapa, S, Nadjidai, SE, Murgier, J, Ng, CH. The psychological impact of COVID-19 and other viral epidemics on frontline healthcare workers and ways to address it: a rapid systematic review. Brain Behav Immun Health 2020; 8: 100144.Google Scholar
Shaukat, N, Ali, DM, Razzak, J. Physical and mental health impacts of COVID-19 on healthcare workers: a scoping review. Int J Emerg Med 2020; 13: 1–8.Google Scholar
Ann, SM, Gaughan, AA, Macewan, SR, Gregory, ME, Rush, LJ, Volney, J, et al. Pandemic experience of first responders: fear, frustration, and stress. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2022; 19: 4693.Google Scholar
Løvseth, LT, Aasland, OG. Confidentiality as a barrier to social support: a cross-sectional study of Norwegian emergency and human service workers. Int J Stress Manag 2020; 17: 214.Google Scholar
Hill, R, Stewart, S, Potter, A, Pickford, R, Smith, K. Managing the First 230 Days. C19 National Foresight Group, 2020.Google Scholar
Hill, R, Guest, D, Pickford, R, Hopkinson, A, Daszkiewicz, T, Whitton, S, et al. Covid-19 Pandemic: Second Interim Operational Review. C19 National Foresight Group, 2020.Google Scholar
Hill, R, Guest, D, Pickford, R, Hopkinson, A, Daszkiewicz, T, Whitton, S, et al. Covid-19 Pandemic: Third Interim Operational Review. C19 National Foresight Group, 2020.Google Scholar
Hill, R, Guest, D, Hopkinson, A, Towler, A, Pickford, R. Covid-19 Pandemic: First Interim Operational Review. C19 National Foresight Group, 2020.Google Scholar
Tekin, S, Glover, N, Greene, T, Lamb, D, Murphy, D, Billings, J. Experiences and views of frontline healthcare workers’ family members in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative study. Eur J Psychotraumatol 2022; 13: 2057166.Google Scholar
Jenkins, SR. Coping and social support among emergency dispatchers: Hurricane Andrew. J Soc Behav Pers 1997; 12: 201–16.Google Scholar
O’Toole, M, Mulhall, C, Eppich, W. Breaking down barriers to help-seeking: preparing first responders’ families for psychological first aid. Eur J Psychotraumatol 2022; 13: 2065430.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Casas, JB, Benuto, LT. Work-related traumatic stress spillover in first responder families: a systematic review of the literature. Psychol Trauma 2022; 14: 209–17.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Porter, KL, Henriksen, RC. The phenomenological experience of first responder spouses. Fam J 2016; 24: 44–51.Google Scholar
McNamara, N, Muhlemann, N, Stevenson, C, Haslam, C, Hill, R, Steffens, N, et al. Understanding the transition to retirement for firefighters: a social identity approach. Nottingham: The Firefighters Charity. Available from: https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/49070Google Scholar
Hobfoll, SE. Conservation of resources: a new attempt at conceptualizing stress. Am Psychol 1989; 44: 513.Google Scholar
Halbesleben, JR, Neveu, JP, Paustian-Underdahl, SC, Westman, M. Getting to the “COR”: understanding the role of resources in conservation of resources theory. J Manag 2014; 40: 1334–64.Google Scholar
Hobfoll, SE. Conservation of resources and disaster in cultural context: the caravans and passageways for resources. Psychiatry 2012; 75: 227–32.Google Scholar
Hobfoll, SE. The influence of culture, community, and the nested‐self in the stress process: advancing conservation of resources theory. Appl Psychol 2001; 50: 337–421.Google Scholar
Hobfoll, SE. Conservation of resource caravans and engaged settings. J Occup Organ Psychol 2011; 84: 116–22.Google Scholar
Brunsden, V, Hill, R, Maguire, K. Managing stress in the fire and rescue service: a UK informed global perspective. Int Fire Service J Leader Manag 2014; 7: 27–39.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×